Paddling Together Knowledge Mobilization
Paddling Together towards a Skookum Surrey is an experiential learning and cultural safety project that demonstrated the need for stronger, more humanizing relationships among Urban Indigenous Peoples and health/social services providers in Surrey, B.C.
After completing their journey of gathering, practicing, and paddling, the Paddling Together team approached me to help develop and immersive multimedia knowledge mobilization web experience.
Testimonials, as authentic endorsements from satisfied customers, serve as potent social proof, significantly inspiring trust in potential consumers.
Name, Company
Key features for the Paddling Together website
Weaving story into a digital learning space
From the beginning, it was important for the website to be an extension of the canoe journey itself. It was essential that the site reflect the emotional, relational, and place-based depth of the project. My role was to bring this land-based and community-led experience into an online format that honoured the voices of those involved.
I worked closely with project leads to shape the structure and flow of the site. Rather than presenting information in a linear way, we chose to reflect a more cyclical and relational approach. This approach invited visitors to move gently between each phase of gathering, practicing, paddling, and taking action.
Creating an immersive digital canoe journey
Building an immersive web experience also meant thinking about how all senses could be activated as readers navigated the site. We wanted people to feel as though they were paddling alongside the participants and having a canoe journey of their own. To achieve this feeling, I incorporated multiple audio and visual elements captured by participants and organizers during the canoe journey. These elements evoked the experience of being on the water and in community. With these elements, readers experienced the waves and wind for themselves and felt as though they were sitting in circle as stories and learnings were shared.
Furthermore, accessibility, as always, was another priority. As such, the site includes plain-language descriptions, screen reader-friendly layouts, and multiple formats for engaging with the material.
Holding space for ongoing learning and action
While the canoe journey itself is complete, the learning it inspired is ongoing. The cyclical nature of the site encourages readers to return to their canoe journey again and again. Readers begin their journey and then travel through gathering, practicing, paddling, and taking action. From there, the next step is to begin again.
This website also aims to be a resource for health and social service providers as well as anyone interested in experiential and land-based learning towards Indigenous health equity and reconciliation. It invites visitors to slow down, listen deeply, and consider how relationships shape the systems we move through.
